Unsnappily-named lightweight workhorse

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Product features

Despite its continued efforts in the consumer market, Dell is still a box-shifter at heart and has refreshed its entire line of Latitude laptops.

This model caught our eye, the Latitude E6430S. It's a 14-inch notebook with a 1,366 x 768 resolution display. It's actually closer to a 13-inch in terms of chassis size.

Indeed, while it's not an Intel Ultrabook, it might as well be - it has several Ultrabook features including Intel Rapid Start and Intel Smart Connect as well as an SSD.

The unit boasts a new Ivy Bridge-spec Intel Core processor plus USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 4.0 as well as Windows 7. Surprisingly, the base E6430S only has 2GB of RAM, though we'd expect many buyers to upgrade this.

The body has been designed for strength and there's a Strikezone shock absorber with fall sensor. The hard drive is also isolated with rubber. The keyboard is robust and is a typically comfortable Dell effort.

As you'd expect, there's also Intel Vpro system management plus Dell's own tools for system admins including remote wiper.

There's also an optional extra battery pack – adding the nine cell pack can whack the battery life up to a remarkable 32.7 hours according to Dell figures. Fast charging also means the standard three cell battery can be at more than 80 per cent capacity in less than an hour.

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Tech Specs

Product Type

Notebook

Hard Drive Capacity

250 GB

Processor Manufacturer

Intel

Bluetooth

Yes

Wireless LAN

Yes

Optical Drive Type

DVD-Writer

Solid State Drive Capacity

No

eSATA

Yes

FireWire/i.LINK

Yes

DisplayPort

Yes

Product Family

Latitude E

Processor Model

P8700

Brand Name

Dell

Processor Speed

2.53 GHz

Processor Type

Core 2 Duo

Screen Size

35.8 cm (14.1")

Standard Memory

2 GB

Cache

3 MB

Processor Core

Dual-core (2 Core)

64-bit Processing

Yes

Chipset Manufacturer

Intel

Number of Total Memory Slots

2

Optical Media Supported

DVD±R/±RW

Display Screen Type

Active Matrix TFT Colour LCD

Bluetooth Standard

Bluetooth 2.1

Ethernet Technology

Gigabit Ethernet

Total Number of USB Ports

4

Memory Standard

DDR2-800/PC2-6400

Height

30.5 mm

Width

332.7 mm

Depth

238 mm

Memory Technology

DDR2 SDRAM

Product Series

E

Manufacturer

Dell, Inc

Product Model

E6400

Product Name

Latitude E6400 Notebook

Product Line

Latitude

Manufacturer Part Number

L116400101E

Manufacturer Website Address

http://www.dell.co.uk

Marketing Information

Dell Latitude E6400 Notebook, designed to increase productivity while reducing Total Cost of Ownership, the new Dell Latitude E6400 features dramatic improvements in performance, durability and security.